We are attempting to identify and characterize septins in C. elegans. Cells undergo cytokinesis to produce two daughters. The mechanisms that regulate cytokinesis remain poorly understood. Over the past twenty years, a class of genes called septins has been identified and shown to play a critical role in cytokinesis in several organisms such as S. cerevisiae and D. melanogaster. In S. cerevisiae, septins are essential for the -10 rim neck filament assembly and might be the primary structural components of the neck filaments. Mutations in any one of the four known septin genes lead to a failure in budding. Thus, these mutations result in large multinucleated budding cells. In Drosophila, septins have been shown to localize at the cleavage furrow during cytokinesis. Drosophila septin mutants also exhibit multinucleated cells. Using molecular techniques, we have recently identified the first Caenohrabditis elegans septin. We will determine the localization of C.elegans septin in early C. elegans embryos using confocal microscopy.